Gather students on the rug using a preferred classroom management technique. I like to use my “Stop, look, listen.” The students stop what they are doing, look at me and listen for the direction. I usually preface the direction with, “When I say go…” This reminds the students to listen to the whole direction before moving to follow the directive.

In this case I would say, “When I say go I would like you to clear your space, push in your chair and go take a spot on your dot. Walking feet go.” By saying walking feet I am reminding the students to use walking feet in the classroom to ensure safe movement between areas.

When all of the students are on the rug I introduce the book.

“Today we are going to read a book called Apples, Apples, Apples, written and illustrated by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace. If she is the author and the illustrator what did she do?” Generally by this time in the year I have most of my students raising their hand to tell me she wrote the words and drew the pictures.

“When I look at the cover of this book I see a little rabbit picking apples. Do you think this book is fiction or non-fiction? Remember fiction is make-believe and non-fiction is real information.”

“What is the clue that the book is fiction?”

“I agree with you Bryan. Rabbits do not wear clothing or pick apples in real life. Good observation.”

Now I go ahead and begin reading.

During the reading of this book one of the first things I talk about on the first page is the quotation marks and the exclamation mark. “This is what it would sound like if I just read the words.”I give the students an example of what it would sound like if I just read the words ignoring the punctuation and without adding inflection to my voice.

Next I reread the words this time paying attention to the punctuation and adding inflection to my voice.

“Okay who notices a difference between the two ways I read the words?”

“What did you notice was different?”

“Which way of reading sounds more interesting to you?”

“The author uses different types of punctuation to make the book more interesting and to help you understand what the characters in the story are feeling.”

“So how do you think this family is feeling right now?”

“I agree with you Bob. I think the family is pretty excited about going to pick apples.”

During reading we discuss some of the vocabulary words that we come across. Words like crafts, varieties, grafting, etc. I do not want to do all the new words we come across because I do not want to lose my audiences interest.

While reading I make sure to emphasize the important points or events of the story; this will make it easier for the students to recall information later during the activity. Importance of retellings

Resources (2)

Resources

Once the story is over I ask the students, “Did anyone learn anything new from this book?” Some students will raise their hands. I only take two or three responses because this is not the main focus of my lesson but I do want to make one point to the students.

“I find it interesting that even though this book is fiction we still learned some new information. This shows me that even though a book is fiction it does not mean we won’t learn something new. We are always learning when we read a book.”

“Raise your hand if you know what the surprise was at the end of the story?” I use the Fair Sticks to select a student to respond.

“You are right. They made applesauce. Today we are going to make applesauce.”

“Before we can make the apple sauce we will need to build the recipe so we know what to do.”

I open up a blank screen on the SMARTBoard ready to note down the student responses.

“Okay, we have been to the orchard and picked our apples what is the first thing we need to do?”

I will occasionally have a student who tells me that we need to wash our hands.

“You are right we do need to wash our hands to make sure we do spread germs. However is that a recipe step we would see in a cook book?”

“Let’s think about what the rabbits did to make their applesauce.”

I list the steps as the students tell me. I add in the measurements as I go and I try to make the wording as simple as possible to match the activity they are about to go and do.

“Now that we have recalled the steps from the recipe in the book, you are now going to put the steps in order at one of the work stations. At the work station you will find all of the steps mixed up. You will also find a sheet of paper with empty rectangles on it just like this one. Your job will be to select a step and glue it in place on the recipe paper in the correct order. What resources do you think I can use to help me if I do not know which step goes where?” Apple Sauce Recipe

“Yes Adrian, I can use the SMARTBoard.”

“Your right April, I can use the book.”

“Good job noticing the numbers Evan. Those numbers will certainly help me put the steps in order.”

Resources (2)

Resources

When the time is up I blow two short blasts on my whistle and use the “Stop, look listen” technique mentioned above. “When I say go, I would like you to clean up your space remembering to take care of our things, push in your chair, and use walking feet to go and take a spot on your dot.”

I remind students to put their completed work in the “completed work” bin and those that are not complete go into the “under construction” bin.

Resources (1)

Resources

Show the graph of the different varieties of apples depicted in the book. Review the information with the class. Explain that they will learn about different types of apples. Place the same variety of apples on a table during integrated work station time along with a set of magnifying glasses. Invite the students to look at and compare the shapes of the apples. Ask them to describe the differences and similarities. Invite the students to feel the different apples. Have the students record some of their observations in their science journal. I also like to show this Youtube clip.

Show students the page in the book where Mr. Miller cuts an apple in half to reveal a star and the seeds. Ask them to recall how many seeds an apple can have. Invite the students to predict how many seeds they will find in each apple. Do they think different types of apples will have more or less seeds? Do the students think the apple seeds will all be the same shape or color? Have an adult cut each apple in half, being careful to keep the different types of apple together. I usually place the apples on different colored pieces of construction paper. Have the students’ record their observations in their science journal or you could make a classroom observation chart (this will depend on your students’ abilities and time you have for the lesson).

Do an apple taste test. Make a graph on the SMARTBoard or on a large sheet of chart paper to record the student's favorite apples. Write the following question on the top of the graph: What is your favorite kind of apple? Divide the paper into vertical columns for each type of apple that the student will taste. Label each column with the name of each type of apple. Use colored construction paper to make apple cutout shapes to depict the different types of apples the student will taste. Cut the apples in advance, giving a slice of each type to the student. Invite the student to taste each type of apple. Engage the student in a discussion about the different tastes and textures. “Is the apple sweet or tart, crisp or soft?” Show the student the graph and review the question with them. Remind the students they can only select ONE. Ask the students to glue a cutout paper apple in the column that represents their favorite apple. Encourage the class to observe the information on the graph as it is being completed. “Wow it looks like the Golden Delicious is the favorite apple so far. I wonder if it will be the most popular.” Invite the students to read the completed graph and develop a conclusion. “What was the most popular apple? What was the least popular? Can anyone recall and tell me what was the taste and texture of the most popular apple?”

Now you can have the students record the graphing results on their own paper. Apple Graphing

Show the students the page in the book which illustrates an apple cut in half and the parts of the apple. Ask the students to recall the activity where we made the apple puppet to go along with the poem to help us remember the parts of an apple. Explain to the student that they will use construction paper to make a similar apple collage. At one of the integrated work stations provide the students with pre-cut construction paper representing the stem, skin, core, flesh, seeds, and leaf of the apple, and a sheet of blue paper and glue sticks. Ask the students to label the parts of the apple (have a word bank available and/or a copy of the book). Students can also label the leaf and seeds of the apple. Ask the students, “Who remembers the other name for an apple seed?”

Big Idea:
Sentence frames provide ELLs language support and a framework to explain their thinking. They are used in this lesson to help students write a brief opinion paper in response to a story read aloud.